Gender, grooms, and gifts: the form and function of Groomservice across cultures

Marriage transactions have been the subject of significant study in the field of anthropology since the 1950s. Although the typification of marriage transactions has remained relatively consistent over the last seven decades, several transactions have been identified and typified since then. One of the most recent marriage transactions to be introduced to a typology is groomservice, wherein a bride labors for the family of her groom for a period of time before marriage. Due to its recent identification, the present understanding of groomservice is severely underdeveloped. This thesis seeks to rectify that through study of the form and function of groomservice across cultures. After a literature review of prominent theories of marriage transactions and a theoretical discussion of the functions of groomservice under these models, this thesis delves into ethnographic data from four groomservice-practicing cultures selected from the Human Relations Area Files (HRAF) database. It will then analyze this data with the theories of marriage transactions in mind to discuss the function of groomservice. This exploration shows that groomservice appears in diverse forms across cultures. Furthermore, groomservice serves not one but multiple functions. Finally and most importantly, this thesis highlights the need for greater focus on the contributions of women to the arrangement of marriage and the associated marriage transactions. The reduction of women to passive objects of transaction has left many gaps in the study of marriage transactions and marriage in general which can only be filled with additional study.